A Length of Hand Spun Cotton Katazome: Boldly Delicate Red Toned Flowers
late nineteenth century
32 1/2" x 13 1/4", 82.5 cm x 33.5 cm
The cotton used for this length of indigo dyed katazome is soft to the touch because it is made of hand spun yarns that are hand woven. The quality of the cotton is beautiful and is just the quality you want to see in old folk textiles.
The pattern is equally good. It shows invented flowers, boldly placed against arabesques and a stippled background. The flowers show a nice, big area of applied red dye which adds punch to the design. The grey details in the leaves and arabesques add subtlety.
On this length you can clearly see the repeat, that is to say you can see the size of the stencil as the breaks in the design are quite visible: this is not often the case with katazome cloth and on this one this detail adds to the rustic charm.
A beautiful pattern which is wonderfully realized and colored this length is recommended.